In the past week I've seen two young kittens from two separate neighborhoods with pretty bad stomatosis--and those were kittens who tested negative for FIV/FELV.
For those of you not familiar with stomatosis, it is an oral infection that attacks both a cat's teeth and the soft tissues in its mouth. It's usually present with advanced tooth decay and is common among stray/feral cats that have FIV or FELV. It is not common among kittens, but I've seen a rash of it lately.
My best guess is that weather conditions where I am (Pennsylvania) have contributed to rapid food spoilage. Kittens, with immature immune systems and stressed by living outside, eat that food and develop infections.
The infection is painful and in addition to rotting out the teeth further weakens the cat as the cat is less inclined to eat. This is a serious condition.
I am now treating two kittens (both under twelve weeks) for this condition. The first one had the worst of his teeth extracted and is now on a soft diet--fortunately his teeth were baby teeth. The second will be treated by a vet at the first opportunity. Stay tuned....
For those of you not familiar with stomatosis, it is an oral infection that attacks both a cat's teeth and the soft tissues in its mouth. It's usually present with advanced tooth decay and is common among stray/feral cats that have FIV or FELV. It is not common among kittens, but I've seen a rash of it lately.
My best guess is that weather conditions where I am (Pennsylvania) have contributed to rapid food spoilage. Kittens, with immature immune systems and stressed by living outside, eat that food and develop infections.
The infection is painful and in addition to rotting out the teeth further weakens the cat as the cat is less inclined to eat. This is a serious condition.
I am now treating two kittens (both under twelve weeks) for this condition. The first one had the worst of his teeth extracted and is now on a soft diet--fortunately his teeth were baby teeth. The second will be treated by a vet at the first opportunity. Stay tuned....
